It is a conference conspicuous for its lack of star names. Pity any political journalist trying to make a day consisting of keynote speeches by Gove, Grayling and Willetts sound enthralling.
But the lure of an hour or so in the company of Dame Kelly Holmes, double gold medallist at the Athens Olympics, was enough to get Tory representatives flooding into a windowless, airless basement suite at the Imperial Hotel in Blackpool last night.
And an even bigger thrill was the moment when Dame Kelly trustingly produced her two gold medals and handed them around the room, jokingly calling on organisers to "lock the doors".
The medals were surprisingly heavy and chunky, although I resisted the temptation to put it round my neck instead of my conference pass.
Dame Kelly is one of the inspirational voices of British sport - and she was on a panel alongside leading administrators who are working to ensure that the London 2012 Olympics really deliver a sporting legacy - a more active nation, as well as a hatful of GB golds.
Discussion was focused not on rows about budgets and the £9.3bn cost of the games, but the potential dividend of staging the world's biggest sporting extravaganza. On the top table were three chief executives: Steve Grainger, of the Youth Sport Trust, Jennie Price, of Sport England, and John Steele, of UK Sport. Their attendance was a tribute to Hugh Robertson, the Conservatives' well-informed and respected sports and Olympics spokesman.
He said sport has the ability to deliver results across key social policy areas, including health and education, and highlighted two schemes - a literacy project run by Tottenham Hotspur that has advanced literacy ages among disadvantaged youngsters by 18 months, and a evening football scheme run by Wolverhampton Wanderers that has helped cut local crime by 60%.
Between them the panellists agreed the Olympics present an unmissable opportunity.
At Sport England, Price believes the legacy of the games should be getting 80% of the population who do little active sport to participate at least three times a week.
At UK Sport, Steele says the 2012 effect is already coming through in sports like rowing, sailing, cycling - where Britain won seven golds in the recent world championships.
The mood was one of optimism, but the rallying cry was left to Dame Kelly. "Having the 2012 games means we can inspire a whole new generation. I believe if we all get behind sport, we can make huge steps for the first time for the betterment of our country."
